Agriculture

IATP aims to be a go to source for analysis of agricultural policy in the United States. We focus on Farm Bill programs, incentives for sustainable agriculture, ag biotechnology and nanotechnology, food safety and regulatory policy. We are firmly committed to addressing the agricultural contribution to climate change and promoting solutions that reduce emissions, while creating greater soil health and stability for farmers. We are also committed to combating corporate concentration in agriculture, and the destructive practices that causes.

Industry demands that NAFTA 2.0 'does no harm' to U.S. exports. But go a step further, intending to force other governments to accept genetically engineered agricultural exports that have not been risk assessed in the importing nation.

IATP was one of 34 organizations addressing a letter to the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Coalition for Family Farms and the Environment is urging Congress to vote no on H.R. 2, the Farm Bill that is partisan and harms family farms for the benefit of corporate interests.

Josh talks with Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau from Action Aid USA about the two new videos they put out on supply management and factory farming in Iowa. You can see the videos here: https://www.actionaidusa.org/work/agribusiness-family-farmers/

Last week House of Representatives Agriculture Committee chairman, Rep. Mike Conway, released his first draft of the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill did not have the support of the ranking member on the committee, Rep. Colin Peterson.

If proposed Chinese tariffs go into effect, it will be painful for U.S. farmers. It's time to ask some hard questions about the system supported by past policy that put our farm economy and the men and women who grow our food in such a vulnerable position.

IATP often works internationally, but our headquarters is in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this episode, Josh is joined by Filiberto Nolasco, Editor of the online news site, Workday Minnesota, to talk about what the broader issues of labor, immigrants rights, and social justice are happening in our community.

The Farm Bill is a fundamentally a story about power. Dating back to the 1930s, every five years or so Congress decides in whose interest the Farm Bill will serve. Current Farm Bill debates involve many constituencies beyond just farmers, including hunger advocates, environmentalists, rural leaders, public health supporters, and civil rights organizations. The Farm Bill is both derivative and evolving, with important lessons from the past informing the hard policy challenges of the future.